I needed a new computer but didn’t want a Dell, because I’ve heard they’re hell, so I opted to get an HP computer. I’ve had an HP laserjet printer for more than 15 years. I also had a family & friends discount.

I made a mistake!

My computer (a desktop model) was only out of the box for four days when the damn DVD writer stopped working. It won’t close. My computer guy (from Data Age) was helping me—as I am technologically challenged—so he called HP and was on hold for 54 minutes. He talked to several people in different countries and finally was able to order a part.

HP sent the wrong part! They sent the DVD-rom, not the DVD writer.

Today, I called again with my case number in hand, and I waited in a queue that went around the world and back. Everyone I spoke to said that they were not the right person, and they forwarded me on to another person who wasn’t the right person either.

You would think that HP could route the call properly after hearing what the problem was. Obviously not!

Finally, the last guy said that I would have to call back (English was barely his second language) as the wait time was too high. At this point, I had been waiting for 43 minutes. I demanded that I get put in the queue—and then got disconnected.

Then I went into chat mode online and gave them my case number; the guy said he would be back in 5 minutes. Before I could cut and paste the chat, he left the chat room saying that a case manager would contact me in 48 hours. Not even a goodbye, just a disappearing act.

You just cannot imagine how furious I am! If I didn’t have my entire work life and a zillion documents loaded onto this piece of shit, I would throw it off a cliff. But not before hammering the damn daylights out of it.

I will see if someone contacts me, but I rather doubt it.

Meanwhile, I received a survey from Harris wanting to know about my experience with HP. I gave them a grand total of zero for unbelievably unsatisfactory. At the end of the survey, I was able to get in my case number and request someone contact me.

I’m not holding my breath.

Their Web site says that HP has award-winning service and offers 24/7 Web and phone support. Who writes this crap?

This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2007.

23 replies on “HP Doesn’t Know Rom from Writer”

  1. Next time have an established local bricks and mortar shop build your system if they provide a 1 year parts and labor warranty. (there’s a decent shop on Plumer, south of Broadway)

  2. Karyn,

    If the only problem is the DVD writer, that is a small self-contained unit that can be easily replaced within the larger system. You probably won’t know how to do it, but anybody who has built a computer can. It’s really a matter of unplugging your machine, using a Phillips-head screwdriver to open it, and then unseating the drive, pulling out its power and data connectors, and replacing it with a new one. Chances are HP loaded the machine with the lowest-end DVD units they could get, undoubtedly from an electronics sweatshop in Thailand.

    The DVD writer itself shouldn’t cost more than $40-$60, I’m guessing, and you can probably buy a very good one online with minimal hassle. I recommend NewEgg.com which has competitive prices, cheap shipping, and areas where users can leave feedback on each product (which has helped me avoid shoddy products in the past), much like Amazon. There are several other good online mail-order computer parts businesses. Local stores are better for some things, but naturally they mark everything up.

    As for best brands of desktop computer, even though the pre-built ones keep getting better and faster, I still believe that building your own computer is the best way to go. You will get a more up-to-date, reliable and powerful computer if you build your own, and you’ll save a good $500 in the process. I can build a kick-ass computer for about $1000 that would easily cost $1,500 through Dell or HP, possibly more.

    There are many “how to” guides online that will take a person step-by-step through the process of buying components and building a computer. If you can figure out how to make the motherboard and CPU match everything gets easier from there. You’re basically just adding parts, screwing things in place, and plugging things in while following a manual (though some manuals are written in “Engrish”). With the high-speed, dual-core CPUs coming out these days, it’s very satisfying to get a new computer if your current one is more than 3 years old.

    There you go — way more information than you asked for.

  3. Duplicate backups on flash drives with very occasional backups to (external)CD-R has been the way to go for Red Star for some years now.

    Red Star’s “gut” feeling is that if “service after the sale” (should it be necessary) is the priority, shop a local established builder for fastest, honestest turnaround.

  4. Wow! Now I know how to build a computer! Simple! Next I think I’ll learn how to construct a nuclear power plant in my backyard. I could light the entire neighborhod.
    Seriously, tho, one of the biggest problems we non-geeks have with geeks is that just because it’s simple that doesn’t mean it is easy to do.
    I have a Dell and I absolutely refuse to call them for help. Other than the fact that I cannot understand the Enlish spoken (and clearly it is a different type of English) the people on the other side of the line always want to troubleshoot by giving me the most complicated directions. Very frustrating. Like that science teacher in college who is a genius in his field, but cannot clearly explain anything.
    They should all take a philosophy class then they would learn about Occum’s (spelling?) razor which simply put says try the simplest way first when trying to solve a problem.
    Of course, if they don’t answer the phone….

  6. Slim,
    You were not listening. That’s so typical. I just bought the bloody computer and it’s under a free warranty for 1 year so why would I go out and spent another $40-$60 that came with the computer and didn’t work.
    Ha! You said minimal hassle. Why does there have to be any hassle at all?
    My next computer will be hometown built.
    Now where can I buy a TV from a local shop? That’s my next purchase after I calm down from this fiasco. I don’t want to do Best Buys or Circuit Shitty.

  7. Should have bought an Apple product. Tucson Weekly was published exclusively on Macintosh computers from 1989 until the current owners made the brilliant decision to abandon that excellent platform. Apple rules.

  8. Sorry I wasn’t listening. Maybe I should get a job at a tech-support center in India.

    You’re right, you shouldn’t have to spend extra money on something that is under warranty. I was just babbling. (Then again, doesn’t the Tucson Weekly pay the big bucks so you can toss money around like Bette Midler?)

    The best way to deal with tech support stuff is to have a speaker phone or a handsfree cell phone. Then you can do something else while waiting. Better yet, use the Jack Bauer “24” method and show up in person, then torture the technician until he REALLY helps you. Just unplug everything before using the water-board.

  9. Doug: I am with you. I lost that Apple/Mac battle. Oh, well.

    Slim: “Big bucks”? At alternative newsweeklies? HAR HAR HAR *SNORT* HAR.

  10. Oh by the way, Karyn, be sure to get a thin TV, or save up until you can afford one. It’s only a matter of time before thick TVs are completely obsolete.

    Check out the latest thin TVs from Sharp. This TV is nearly as thin as a pane of glass!

  12. I would say it’s more like George Constanza. (I’ve replaced Srcrubs with Seinfeld these days — I’ve seen all the Scrubs episodes in syndication). Oh and what’s with G4 shoving Arrested Development off ?

    Karyn has a point in that the computer is under warranty, and even if she spent more to buy a replacement DVD writer, she would need to know how to hook it up (including the PIN/DIN settings, etc.) So a $50 DVD Writer purchase automatically comes with finding a computer guy at $40 more or so to put it in.

    As for Dell vs. HP, it’s my understanding that Dell is actively improving its customer service after being toppled from the top spot. Ironically, HP has gone downhill it appears.

    This all has similarities to the auto business and how displaced GM and Ford are fighting hard to fix their quality ratings, whereas market leader Toyota has really slacked off. Toyota was one of the most-recalled car brands for 2006.

  14. An amazing thing happened: HP called me. I believe the accent was Turkish. She apologized profusely and is trying to get me my part (we’ll see) and mailing label to return the wrong part (we’ll see) but not before trying to sell me an extended warranty and I lost it at that point. I said I was not going to spend one more dime on their damn products. I had to give her my credit card number (scary but I can always charge back) in case they don’t get the part back in 14 days which they will.

    Then someone else called me from another continent but I wasn’t home and I’m afraid to call them back because they might undo what already has been done.

    It must’ve been that Harris Survey that garnered such a response or maybe they were reading the TW blog.

    Thanks for the local recommendation. I wasn’t planning on getting a flat screen TV because I dont’ have cable. I cannot afford all those monthly frills. My current TV is at least 15 years old and I can tell the picture is going; I rarely watch TV but now and then like to watch a few programs and Jay Leno as a nightcap.

  16. Glad things are rolling along, Karyn. Quick question: What’s the link between flat-screen TV and having cable? I’m pretty sure you can use a flat-screen with an antenna.

    Jay Leno? Ewwww…. Letterman, baby! (Is Leno a Mac and Letterman a PC, or vice-versa?)

  17. I don’t mean to launch a Mac-vs.-PC flame war here, but Doug Biggers is right: Buy a Mac next time. They’re not perfect, and they’re way overpriced, but they’re far more reliable in every hardware and software respect than PCs. I used to be an anti-Mac snob, believing they were good only for junior-high kids, but then I was forced to use one at the Tucson Weekly and I saw the light. Unless you really like to dig into the guts of your own computer, and mess around with code, save yourself the headaches of PCs. And when your Mac does go bad, it’s easy to get parts and service locally (Simutek).

    Regarding flat screens and cable: A lot of flat screens don’t have built-in tuners, which is why they’re easiest to set up with a cable or satellite system, or in a household where you only watch DVDs and not broadcast channels.

  18. But yes, you can use an antenna with a flat screen. And even if you get a flat screen that is high-definition capable, you can get anything that’s broadcast via a local channel in high definition without paying for cable.
    But it does look funny, I have to say, to have a fancy flat screen TV with rabbit ears stickin’ out the back of it. Even worse if, like in my house, the rabbit ears are also broken and mended with aluminum foil.

  20. I think one of the main edges that Mac’s have over PC’s is the operating system. PC’s suffer from the Microsoft monopoly, which has created one of the most bug-ridden OS’s imaginable.

    In fact, having built two of my own computers from scratch, I can attest that the biggest hurdle is installing the Windows OS. I never once needed to call tech support until I tried to install Windows XP on a new machine. I hear Vista is even worse.

    First you install the Windows program from a CD. Then you need to get the updates, but you can’t get the updates because the Windows drivers won’t recognize your modem and other peripherals (an especially nasty problem if it won’t recognize your video driver). So you are dependent on the motherboard manufacturer’s CD of drivers to get your machine running.

    Then, when you finally get your computer to recognize your modem so you can connect to the internet, you need to download all the Windows updates. But you can’t get them all at once. Instead you have to download various sections and then reboot at least three times, probably more. You have to get a Windows signature, a Windows version update, a package of bug fixes, a package of security fixes, and possibly further updates. Each one requires a re-boot.

    By this time, Windows still often won’t recognize most of your hardware. The device manager in the control panel is a joke, too, because even if the drivers are readily available it frequently can’t find them via a basic search. So you have to delete all your device drivers after you’ve installed the Windows updates, and then let it re-recognize them from scratch. Each added driver sometimes means another re-boot (as with video cards).

    Building the computer is a snap compared to getting Windows to work. Once it does work, however, it’s pretty dang powerful.

    The difference in expense between PCs and Macs is nothing to sneeze at, unless you have money growing out of your head. Try getting a slick new state-of-the-art Mac for $1,300.

  21. Yeah but Slim — use computer #2 to fix computer #1. Download the drivers needed using your old computer, copy them to CD or floppy and install them on the new one. You’re replacing one with the other, so why not?

  22. MW,

    Copy them to a floppy? A good floppy is hard to come by.

    The part arrived. This time it was right and it works.

    I had 2 people call me from HP (one of them twice) — Mr. Oscar Rico-I wonder if they use fake names and everyone is named Oscar Rico.

    I’m sure it had to do with that Harris survey.

    Interesting that both people told me that now “you say good things about HP”.

    I’ll say what I want to say.

  23. I should hope you can still find floppies — I have a bunch of them from the ’90s. If anything, eBay for floppies. Everyone should have a few floppies lying around for easy data transfer for any computer without internet access.

    Like I said, you’d need them if you can’t locate the driver disks to load from and don’t want to burn a CD for XP to find. Let’s assume the USB (for a USB stick) is kaput at this point in the installation/setup.

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